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AUSTRALIA > FACTS ABOUT THE COUNTRY
HISTORY: The Aborigines were the first inhabitants of Australia - migrated to the continent at least 40,000 years ago. Though debate covers Australian prehistory, it is generally accepted that the first humans, called 'Robust', travelled across the sea from Indonesia about 70,000 years ago. Then around 20,000 years later, the more slender 'Gracile' people - the ancestors of Australian Aborigines - came over.
Europeans started to intrude on Australia in the 16th century, comprising Portuguese navigators followed by Dutch explorers and the enterprising English pirate William Dampier. Captain James Cook sailed the entire length of the eastern coast in 1770. On the way, he dropped by at Botany Bay. After encircling Cape York, he declared the continent for the British and named it New South Wales.
Over the next decades, free settlers began to be attracted to Australia. But the discovery of gold in the 1850s changed the face of the colony. New settlers took up land for farming or mining and the Aborigines were cruelly shoved off their tribal lands. The Industrial Revolution in England called for plenty of raw materials, and Australia's agricultural and mineral resources developed to meet the demand.
Although many of the legal and cultural binds with England remained, Australia became a nation when federation of the split colonies took place on 1 January 1901. Australian troops battled together with the British in the Boer War, WWI and WWII. Post WWII European immigrants flooded up Australia, and then in the 1980s the country accepted large numbers of Asian refugees, especially from Vietnam. Australia keeps developing its country, but many Aborigines still live in awful conditions.
GEOGRAPHY: Australia is the largest island but the smallest continent in the world, situated southeast of Asia and collaborating with the neighboring island of Tasmania. Once it was a part of Asia, but around 25,000 years ago it broke off and drifted. Now, Australia is a self-governing member of the Commonwealth of Nations divided into 6 states and 2 territories, spreading across three time zones. It is the land to discover excitement. Its unique culture blends with fabulous attraction ranging from the aquamarine waters of the Great Barrier Reef to the changing colours of Ayers Rock and from the Sydney Opera House to the Big Pineapple at the Sunshine Plantation of Queensland, are all offering a great feeling of space and a an unmatched sense of freedom
CLIMATE: The geographical position of Australia in the Southern hemisphere - between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean - brings pleasant climate without extremes in temperatures. The seasons are arid to semiarid - just the opposite of the northern hemisphere. About 40% of Australia stretches out in the tropical zone, while the remaining areas lie in the temperate zone. The tropical zone has two major seasons, summer ('wet') and winter ('dry') while the temperate zone has all four seasons (winter, spring, summer and fall). Summer starts in December, fall in March, winter in June and spring in September; with temperate zone in south and east; tropical climate in north.
ENVIRONMENT: Australia is a vast island set south of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Measuring some 4000km east to west, and 3200km north to south, Australia is the world's sixth largest country lies between the Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's inside feature is flat, infertile and sparsely populated. Bulky number of population inhabit the narrow, fertile eastern coastal plain and on the south-eastern coast. The continent-long Great Dividing Range runs north-south down the eastern seaboard, separating the coastal plain from the drier inland areas. The Great Barrier Reef lies between 50-300km (30-185mi) offshore and extends 2000km (1240mi) from the Torres Strait to Gladstone.
FLORA AND FAUNA: Australia is granted with a delightful mixture of native flora and fauna. Its typical flora includes the ubiquitous eucalypt, of which there are some 700 species. Other widespread plants are wattle, banksia, waratahs, bottlebrushes, paperbarks and tea trees. Common animals include the iconic kangaroo, koala and emu, and the platypus, echidna, possum, wombat and dingo. There are also a number of attractive birds, such as parrots, cockatoos and kookaburras, and numerous native reptile and insect species. Meanwhile wary fauna include Australian spiders - particularly the redback and funnel-web, snakes - especially the deadly brown, tiger, death adder, copperhead and red-bellied black varieties, and both salt and freshwater crocodiles. Nature preservations comprising more than 500 national parks, incorporating rainforests, deserts, mountain ranges and coastal dunes.
CULTURE: Australia possesses distinctive culture composed from bits and pieces from different world cultures, including those of the migrant customs. Aboriginal rock carvings and paintings date back at least 30,000 years. The modern Aboriginal art has endured a revival in the last decade as Aboriginal artists have found approaches to both maintain their antique values and share them with a wider community. European colonists embarked on to form typically Australian art looks at the end of the 19th century. Some of the country's well-known artists are Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd (art figures), Patrick White (writing); Brett Whiteley, Fred Williams (painting), Peter Carey, Thomas Keneally, David Malouf (literature), Joan Sutherland (opera), Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford, George Miller, Gillian Armstrong (film), Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman (acting), Barry Humphries (comedy), Graeme Murphy, Paul Mercurio (dance) and Nick Cave, INXS, AC/DC, Silverchair, Kylie Minogue (music)
PEOPLE: Until WWII, Australians were predominantly of Anglo-Celtic descent, but since the coming of European immigrants, it has changed dramatically. 95% of Australia's inhabitants are now made up by the people of European descent, with the majority of British and Irish. Asians, including Middle Easterners, accounted for 4 % of the population, while the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders make up 1 % of the population.
RELIGION: In General, the Australians are mostly Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant with smaller portion of minority religions. 58% all Australians are Christians and more than half of them are Roman Catholic, while several other religions minorities include Buddhist (1.13%), Jewish (0.45%), Muslim (1.13%).
LANGUAGE: The official language of Australia is English, but due to the multicultural flavour, other languages like German, Italian, Greek and many aboriginal dialects are common spoken. Apart from English, there are 240 languages spoken in Australia and 50 of them are indigenous. Today, only about 30 languages are frequently spoken and taught in community schools.
ECONOMY: Australian productive mining and agriculture play essential roles in the country's capitalist economy system. Rich in raw material, natural resources and sheep, Australia places the highest rank of world's largest wool suppliers and major exporter of several agricultural products. Tourism also plays a significant role in the country's major income, while the government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods. While Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment in the early 1990s. Canberra's prominence on reorganizations is the major cause behind the economy's resilience to the regional crisis. The next years' growth will depend on key international commodity prices, the extent of recovery in nearby Asian economies, and the potency of US and European markets.
DINE AND WINE: Beef is the most popular meat, followed by lamb and mutton, poultry, and pork. Australian is rich with ethnic influences as immigrants either from Europe or Asian countries brought their own cuisine with them. Once you visit Australia, you should not miss the country's indigenous foods like kangaroo and crocodile steaks and burgers, Wichita bugs, emu paté and wattle seed ice cream. Australia's oceans supply abundant harvest not only for the country, but also for the rest of the world. Seafront restaurants serve the delicious foods like Sydney rock oysters, abalone, king crab, Balmain bugs, barramundi, tiger prawns, and yabbies. In Australia, wines come cheap and you'll be spoilt for option. Choose the award-winning ones like Penfolds, but please never miss the country's renowned beers like Fosters and XXXX.
TIME ZONES: Australia's time zones include the Eastern Standar Time (WEST), Central Standard Time (CYST) and Western Standard Time (WAST). CYST is one half hour behind WEST, while WAST is two hours behind WEST. Eastern Standard Time (WEST) operates in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland; Central Standard Time (CYST) in South Australia and Northern Territory; and Western Standard Time (WAST) in Western Australia.
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